


Beyond Perception

by kei_reads



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Android Companion AU, Breaking Master/Servant Dynamics, Falling In Love, Fluff, I wrote this before Become Human came out but it fits, Multi, One Shot, Reader treats 9S like a person, detroit: become human au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28264065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kei_reads/pseuds/kei_reads
Summary: You lived in a world of technological marvels, anyone and everyone could have an android to look after them or just keep them company. You didn't have much of an interest, really. But when the chance to have one seems to just fall in your lap, you didn't see a reason to turn it down. Especially when you see one who has a personality and maybe even a soul.
Relationships: 9S (NieR: Automata)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 58





	Beyond Perception

In recent years there has been an absolute boom in technological advancement. Artificial technology had been developed into sentient beings that could take care of their owners or just offer their owner company. Originally, they were only for the richest of the rich, but now they were mainstream products. Artificial companions were being auctioned off regularly from a few companies, all with their own unique takes on what an android could be. It was impressive but you personally didn't really have any need for an artificial companion.

You had your close circle of friends, though some of them had robotic companions, you were content with what you had. Despite the fact they were common, they were obviously a luxury item. You didn't need one, you were fine. Your friend who had one, a 2B model they said, she was so flat speaking and...stern. You found her somewhat intimidating, honestly. She didn't seem like a very good companion. You didn't judge your friend though. If she wanted a robot who looked like she can and would step on her, that was her business.

"Still it would be nice to have someone to talk to when they aren't around..." You sighed and flopped sideways on your sofa. Everyone else had left on the school trip. The way it was planned it almost sounded like a vacation. And you were stuck home. Hurrah. You sighed again, this time with more drama to it. Your dad was an awesome guy and a lot of fun to be around but... spending the whole week with nothing to do was going to be boring.

It was that moment your dad decided to walk into your room. 

"I know you've been feeling low, so I thought we could do something together." You were confused by his sudden enthusiasm but rather than explain he reached out and handed you a flier. Sitting up, you took the paper and were a bit surprised to see just what he was planning. An android auction. You looked up at him curiously. "Dad, are you sure? We don't really need one of these, do we?"

"No, we don't. But we can get it, so why not? Your friends are off doing their own thing and it's just you on your own. Let's do it!" He set his hands on his hips, with a wide grin on his face. He didn't get like this often and didn't treat himself to things like this enough. You couldn't say no. He looked so proud of himself. He seemed more excited about the idea than you did. Android companions or just robots in general obviously weren't around when he was young. It's no wonder he was so excited and wanted to go.

"Let's go, papa. We don't have anything else to do!" You gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. If he wanted to see the cool new robots, why not? Even if you didn't end up buying anything a night out with your dad was worth it on its own.

Your dad bounced slightly, before straightening up and trying to look cool. You had to laugh at him, he was way too giddy. "I'll get everything set up!"

The sun had set and when you arrived at the auction. The building was lit up with colored lights; on every wall, there were posters of androids were being advertised. It was dizzying. Your dad came up behind you to give you a pat on the shoulder. He didn't look too comfortable with all the people around either. "Let's go inside, too many weird people are out here."

Inside wasn't much better, the whole auction room was packed full of people. You took your seat and waited. The lights dimmed down and the first model walked out on the stage. She had long silver hair, skin-tight clothes and you had no interest. Most of the models that came out were like that. There were a few beautiful men too, but they all seemed so...bland.

You closed your eyes, feeling drained. This was a bust. You may as well make the most of it, they had nothing to offer but the same repackaged boring androids. You took a deep breath, slowly evening as you fell asleep. Even if their androids didn't have personality, the seats were soft enough for a little snooze.

Your nap was abruptly interrupted by your father shoving your shoulder. You turned to glare at him, because what the hell, dad?! but he pointed silently to the stage. It was almost the end of the auction when he came out. He appeared young, the same silver hair and dark clothes as all the others, but he had a blindfold on. Well, that's curious. Just what were they hiding under there?

"Our fifteenth model of tonight's auction is a unique one indeed! He's a marvel of human ingenuity! His delicate features will give you comfort! His voice will soothe you no matter what your struggles are! This is YoRHa's bright new unit, 9S!" The auctioneer's voice seemed even more shrill than when you first started now nap. He seemed slightly...unhappy about the android he was currently offering.

The android seemed to be scanning the room, even though his eyes were covered. He didn't look comfortable being watched. That was new. 

The man with the microphone gave him a stern look, "9S, introduce yourself to your future owner."

"..." He didn't answer. It was almost as if he didn't hear the man. He just kept looking around the room. The auctioneer gave the unit a mild slap on the shoulder, which was enough to make you sit up straight in annoyance. He didn't need to hit him to get his attention. None the less, he turned the audience. "I am YoRHa's unit, Nines."

Another smack to the android. Your eyes narrowed.

"I am YoRHa unit number 9 type S."

People around you began to whisper. _A defective android. Why would they try to sell that? Well, I'm not buying it._ You could see the android get more and more anxious as the whispering spread throughout the room. It seemed no one wanted the seemingly broken android. The auctioneer was about to have the model taken off the stage when you stood up, at last raising the bidding paddle that had been sitting dormant the whole evening.

Your dad gave you a glance with mild surprise but seemed to be thinking the same thing as you and gave a nod. He would follow your lead on this one, he didn't like how they were treating the android either. You noticed the andriod, 9S as he was designated, seemed to be locked on to you, his mouth just slightly open. He looked like he didn't believe what was happening.

"Ah! We have our first bid! Will there be any other bids for this wonderful new android?" Not a single other paddle raised.

The auctioneer looked awkwardly around before giving a big, false grin to the crowd. With a theatric bow, he declared you the winner. "Sold, for the base auction price! Now we move on to the next product--"

They quickly began to try to move on, eager to be rid of the "defective" product. Even as the unit was being ushered off stage to be packaged up and prepared for delivery to your house, his head never moved from staring up at you. Not until he was well out of sight. Again you had to wonder just why they had his eyes covered like that.

It took a few days for the package to arrive. You had been contacted by YoRHa shortly after the auction had ended. They said they would be glad to send you a different type S model but you were adamant about getting the one you paid for. It didn't matter if it was faulty or not, you wanted the exact model from the auction. They agreed. They probably just wanted to get rid of the broken product without having to go through the trouble of taking it apart.

When the delivery box arrived on your doorstep, nervousness suddenly set in. When you signed for the package your hands were shaking. You brought the heavy box inside and laid it down horizontally on your living room floor. Inside that box was 9S. He probably thought you were strange. Was that why he could stop looking at you that night? Why was this suddenly so scary?!

"Hello! Um...can you hear me?" You knocked on the box, but there was no response. You waited a moment longer before you carefully pulled open the flaps of the box and laughed at yourself. He was deactivated, obviously. You took the chance to inspect him.

He looked almost human...but just too perfect. His skin looked like porcelain without any flaw or blemish. Like if you touched it wrong you would bruise him. It was impossible of course, he was a robot without blood or any organs. You knew that but even still, you touched his face so carefully. 9S looked as though he were sleeping. Your fingertips traced the underside of the blindfold. You could take it off, remove it to see what was under it and he'd never know you did it when you activated him.

But something stopped you. It just seemed wrong. Like you would be breaking his trust before you even had the chance to gain it. So instead, you reached for the back of his neck and pressed down on the panel at the base of his neck, and listened to how his body began to whir to life. 

You hadn't realized just _how_ quickly he would come to though. He sat up straight way too fast for a human, sending you tumbling back avoid a mach-speed head bonk. He scared the daylights out of you! You scurried a little bit away from him, just avoid any more jump scares. "Don't do that!"

"Ah, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to!" He flustered, reaching his own out to try and console you while he also tried to climb out of his box. His foot caught on the shiny pages of his user manual, slipping and sending him falling back into his box.

You laughed at his positively flabbergasted expression and pout. He was so genuinely offended by falling on his own butt! You tried to turn away, not want to be rude and laugh in his face when he was just waking up.

Under the black fabric, his eyes softened. He could feel it in his processors and core. Your laugh, his owner's laugh, was making everything in the world feel whole. So this is why the other androids wanted to be owned so badly.

This time when he stood up, it was with a grace that couldn't be considered human. You turned back to him and looked up, mystified. He bowed at the waist to you, hand pressed against his chest, and his smile was absolutely adoring. 

"I'm glad that I get to be your companion, your servant, or whatever you need me to be. Thank you for choosing me."

9S stayed like that for months after he woke up. He was whatever you needed him to be. If you needed someone to talk to, he was there. If you needed someone to help you out, he was there. It made your dad happy to see you opening up to someone without any restraint. You could tell him you didn't even tell your closest friends. Even when they came back from the trip he was one you turned to when you needed someone to talk to. 

So that's how you noticed it.

For all the comfort and kindness he gave you there was this undeniable distance between you. It made you feel sad but deep down you knew it was unavoidable. As far as he was concerned, you were on two different levels. You were his owner and he was your property. 

He wasn't human. Even if you spent days lounging on the couch together like you were one sunny afternoon. You wanted to bridge the distance and the best way you felt you could do that, was to just talk to him like you would any of your other friends.

"9S, if you could be anything in the world, what would you be?" You asked out of the blue. 9S looked over to you and cocked his head. The question confused him. "I wouldn't be anything if you hadn't purchased me."

You shook your head and sat up straight. You were giving him your undivided attention and focus. Subconsciously he tried to fix his already perfect posture in response. "That isn't what I asked. I said if you could be anything in the world, what would it be."

The question seemed to leave him directionless. He didn't know how he should respond to you and it was confusing him. What would he want to be? He knew the answer deep down but to say it out loud was too much. He was quiet for a while. You almost felt like you had to ask the question again when he answered so quietly, "I would like to be human."

Finally, an answer. And one you couldn't have expected. "Why?"

 _Why indeed,_ he wasn't even sure himself. He never thought about it, was never allowed to think about it. Just what was it you were after? 

"Humans get to...choose. You can be whatever you want to be without really having anything to stop you." He chose his words carefully, not wanting to upset you. Or upset the balance in his relationship with you. But would that really be so bad? His mind whispered. You were always so kind to him. He shoved those traitorous thoughts down.

You nodded slowly, thinking about his answer. From where he was standing, you probably had all the liberties in the world. You could grow and change while an android was just a piece of machinery to be owned and only existed to make the life of a human more fulfilling. And they were meant to be satisfied with that.

Thinking about it like that, a sudden wave of sadness washed over you.

"At the auction, you called yourself Nines. Is that the reason you did that? Because you want to be more like humans?" Your question seemed to strike a chord, but not in a good way. He looked uncomfortable. Just like he did on that night but for you, because it was you, he tentatively nodded. He wanted an identity of his own. He didn't want to just be a serial number or just another model of his kind from the assembly line. You had told him you chose him because he had a personality. Because he had a life. Maybe you'd let him get away with having silly dreams. He hoped you would.

"Alright," You gave a firm nod, "From now on I'll call you Nines. Is that okay with you?"

Feelings were overwhelming things. Something his company had always told him needed to be suppressed and never expressed because they weren't real. It was data confusing his mainframe. Not real. Just signals crossing and glitching. He believed then but he couldn't now. No glitch could ever explain this pure level of joy that was in his artificial heart.

You just saw a flash of black before he launched himself into your arms and hugged you. He held himself against you and even though you were embarrassed by the sudden burst of affection, you would never push him away. Maybe you were wrong but just for a moment, you thought you saw the little glitter of tears sliding from under his mask.

Since when could androids cry?

After you started calling him Nines his attitude began to change. Rather, how he treated you began to change. He had always kept a respectful distance from you, always just a bit behind when you were walking with him to make it clear you were the owner and he was just a thing you owned. 

Now he stood by your side, like equals. This turned people's heads as they wondered just what had gone wrong with that robot. He loved it when you walked close enough together for your hands to bump against each other. He found himself wanting to take your hand in his own. Feel your real, living heat against his simulated temperature. He wanted to know how your hand would feel when he threaded your fingers together. 

These were not the wants of an android servant and his master. He wanted you the way a human man would want you. Not a machine with a human appearance. 

It was confusing, it was frightening but he couldn't find it in him to care. He cared about you. Genuinely. He didn't care about you the way the others cared about their masters or just the deep-seated love they all felt for humans. It was you. As an individual person who he found his processors stuttering for.

You weren't any better. You began to notice things about him that you hadn't paid any mind to before. The way his silver hair blew into his face, the way he would kick his boots when he was bored. You were paying attention to all the little things he did because they felt so utterly priceless to you. It was then that you made up your mind.

"Hey Nines, we're not doing anything this weekend, right?" You asked while you were typing at the table. He turned to look at you from his spot in the kitchen, taking care of making your lunch. You couldn't help but love how he wanted to provide for you. You bit your lip and tried to focus on your little plan. He gave an unsure shake of his head, unsure of where this was coming from.

"No, you haven't made any plans. None that you told me to record anyway. Did you have something in mind?"

"Mmhm, I sure do." You rolled your shoulders and closed your laptop when you heard his soft footsteps leaving the kitchen. You watched him come into the dining room with your lunch in one hand and a drink in the other. Despite half his face being covered with a blindfold, he was easy to read. He was confused an expressive little downturn of his lips being a cute curious little frown. He looked like a puppy. It brought a sweet smile to your face. "I was thinking we could go to the park..."

He set your meal in front of you, moving your laptop off to the side. He wanted to help you enjoy a lovely weekend, whatever it took to make you smile. "Should I call one of your friends? I'm sure they would love to spend some extra time with you."

He wasn't getting it. Of course, he wasn't. Your sweet Nines was a lot of things and one of the largest things he was, was oblivious. You sighed and asked more directly, "No Nines, I was thinking it could be just the two of us. On a date."

You could imagine his eyes getting wide under his blindfold and saw how his mouth popped open. He looked stunned like you had just said the most outrageous thing he'd ever heard. Shame hit you like a truck and the butterflies in your stomach hurt. You blushed up to your ears and hid your face in your arms. "If not, I get it! You don't have to look so shocked! I'm sorry, forget it."

"No, no! I-I'd like that a lot!" He could see it, he watched as your thermal readings rose. You were blushing. He made you blush and you wanted to take him on a date. You wanted him. He was freezing up, he didn't think androids could dream but this had to be one. For his precious master to want to spend time with him. To see that warmth spread over your face...it was addicting. Ahh, not good. That's not something he should be thinking about.

He watched as your face began to peek out from your arms. The red on your cheeks was darker than everywhere else on your body temperature. It was cute. He wished he could see it for real, without it just being a heat scan. 

Your face was probably so adorable right now.

His glove-clad hand shook as he reached out to touch your arm. You were shaking too. It was reassuring in its own way. You were both unsure but eager to try this. Whatever it was. He knelt to your side, sincerely smiling at you. "I'd like to take you anywhere you want to go."

You nodded and spent the afternoon with him, planning and discussing your first date. Perhaps it wasn't right in the eyes of almost everyone else, but you didn't care. It didn't matter, they didn't matter. You had been holding back your feelings for long enough and by god, you were going to indulge until everyone saw what a cute couple the two of you were. You had Nines and when he walked with you to the park it was like a dream.

He held your hand the entire walk, right from when you left the house together. His black gloves were left at home, waiting to feel your hand in his. His grip was so loose at first. He was a robot, made of alloy much stronger than your bones and he felt like he could hurt you even with such little contact. But you told him to hold you tighter, to make it feel more real. You didn't want him to let go and he didn't want to either, your touch grounded him more than anything he'd known before. He threaded his fingers with yours and the smile he had was so human.

He called your name when you were sat down to take a break, "Can I do something with you?"

You turned away from the sky, he was much more interesting than the clouds. You nodded slowly and gasped when you saw his hands reaching behind his head to tug off the black fabric. Even after months of time together, he never took off his blindfold. So long you had been left to wonder. And now you saw them.

His eyes were clear blue, so easily you felt like you were being hypnotized. His eyes were so soft, and he had such a kind face. You hoped he would never put it back on. You don't know if you could take it after seeing just how much love he had in his eyes when he was looking at you. He finally got to see your face and he was feeling weightless. How had he never taken the chance to look at you, to really see you before now? He wanted to kick himself. Go back to that first day and throttle himself for ever daring to keep that stupid little visor on his face.

You were so, so beautiful. He saw everything that you complained about yourself and he couldn't understand it. Every little blemish he wanted to kiss.

In fact...

He kept his eyes open as he leaned towards you. He knew humans closed their eyes during intimate moments like this but he couldn't. To look away from you now would be a crime.

You understood, you always did. You swallowed back the embarrassment and kept your eyes locked on his. Slowly you came together and he sighed happily against your lips. They were chapped from your habit of tearing at them but they were yours. His dear owner. No. Not owner. Just his love, his first, last, and only. That thought alone made him feel like he was going to melt.

To you, his soft lips were too perfect. You never wanted to part from him, they were plush and warm and he tasted sweet. 9S brought his hand up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing against your skin like he couldn't get enough and you knew neither of you was going to let go of this moment.

You waited a lifetime for someone to make you feel alive, it didn't matter if he wasn't human.

He was yours and you were his.

"Nines, what's the most human thing you can think of right now?" You asked against his smiling mouth. You could feel him huff out a small laugh and his mouth didn't part from you as he answered.

"Humans say I love you, during moments like these, right?"

You nodded and he hummed, bumping his forehead against your own and nuzzling your noses together.

_I love you, until the end of time._


End file.
